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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BOGOTA 009702
SIPDIS
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2014
TAGS: PTERSNARKJUSPINRPHUMCOAUC
SUBJECT: WHO ARE THE PARAMILITARY COMMANDERS?
REF: BOGOTA 9519
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Milton K. Drucker for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
-------
Summary
-------
¶1. (C) Paramilitary groups participating in peace talks in
Santa Fe de Ralito submitted a list to the OAS of their
14-member negotiating team and 19 commanders who are present
in the concentration zone. The largest paramilitary group
represented in the zone is the AUC, which is commanded by
three national leaders and several powerful regional
commanders. The next largest group is the BCB, which has
five commanders in the zone. Several independent groups
participating in the negotiations have one or two commanders
in the zone. At least four of commanders present in the zone
are under indictment in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
Three small paramilitary groups remain outside of the
process. End Summary.
-----------------
OAS Receives List
-----------------
¶2. (C) In late August, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC) paramilitaries involved in peace talks with the GOC in
Santa Fe de Ralito, Cordoba Department, submitted a list to
the OAS verification mission of commanders who were in the
concentration zone. The OAS mission provided Embassy with a
copy. Using the names and order listed by the AUC, the
commanders are:
Javier Montanez, BCB Military Commander
Victor Triana Botalon, independent paramilitary commander in
Boyaca Department, loosely affiliated with the AUC
Ernesto Baez de la Serna, BCB Political Commander
Luis Cifuentes, Self-Defense Forces of Cundinamarca Commander
Julian Bolivar, BCB Operations Chief
Hernan Hernandez, AUC Calima Bloc Commander
Guillermo Torres, Self-Defense Forces of Meta and Vichada
Commander
Pablo Sevillano, BCB Liberators of the South Bloc Commander
Miguel Arroyave, AUC Centauros Bloc Commander (died September
19, see reftel)
Pablo Mejia, BCB Vencedores of Arauca Commander
Ramiro Vanoy, AUC Mineros Bloc Commander
Salvatore Mancuso, Chief of the AUC Central Command ("Estado
Mayor") and Northern Bloc Commander
Juan Carlos Sierra, an AUC field commander powerful in the
Middle Magdalena region
Jorge 40, AUC Northern Bloc Operations Commander
Gabriel Galindo, AUC Pacific Bloc Operations Commander
Marlon Perez, paramilitary field commander
Adolfo Paz, AUC Inspector General and Pacific Bloc Commander
Pedro Frontera, paramilitary field commander
Jhon Santamaria, an AUC field commander powerful in western
Antioquia Department
¶3. (C) The AUC also named the members of its official
negotiating team:
Salvatore Mancuso
Ernesto Baez de la Serna
Hernan Hernandez
Vicente Castano (not listed as present in the zone)
Javier Montanez
Julian Bolivar
Jorge 40
Ramiro Vanoy
Miguel Arroyave (died September 19)
Ramon Isaza (not listed as present in the zone)
Victor Triana Botalon
Adolfo Paz
Luis Cifuentes
Guillermo Torres
---------------------------
Who Are The AUC Commanders?
---------------------------
¶4. (C) Since the disappearance and probable death of former
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Political Chief
Carlos Castano in April 2004, Salvatore Mancuso, Vicente
Castano, and Diego Murillo have emerged as the most
significant AUC leaders:
-- Salvatore Mancuso Gomez, AUC Central Command Chief and
Northern Bloc Commander, controls approximately 1,800
paramilitaries in northern Colombia and is AUC spokesman.
His two recent public appearances -- during the concentration
zone's inauguration on July 1 and his address to Congress on
July 28 -- revealed his celebrity-like status within parts of
Cordoba society and his close relationship with Congresswoman
Eleonora Pineda, who accompanied him throughout the
congressional address. Mancuso was conciliatory toward the
GOC during the initial phase of negotiations, but has now
become less so, demanding, for example, a "re-definition" of
government conditions, including a cease-fire. He often
clashes verbally with Central Bolivar Bloc (BCB) Political
Commander Ernesto Baez. Mancuso was born on August 17, 1964,
in Tierralta, Cordoba Department, near the current
concentration zone. He studied engineering at a prestigious
Bogota university and reportedly studied English in
Pennsylvania. He is under indictment in the U.S. on drug
trafficking charges.
-- Vicente Castano ("El Profe"), a senior AUC commander, is
the eldest of the three Castano brothers who founded the AUC
(youngest brother Fidel Castano was reportedly killed in the
1990s). He plays a behind-the-scenes role and, according to
the AUC list, is not present in the concentration zone. He
does not attend negotiation sessions, but allegedly wields
significant influence over Mancuso and other AUC commanders.
Vicente is thought by some observers to be one of the
intellectual authors of the murder of Carlos Castano. Press
reports say he controls AUC finances and drug trafficking.
Castano was born on July 2, 1957, in Amalfi, Antioquia
Department.
-- Fernando Diego Murillo ("Adolfo Paz" or "Don Berna"), AUC
Inspector General, is heavily involved in drug trafficking.
Murrillo came to the AUC after becoming a preeminent drug
trafficker. He controls several thousand troops in and
around Antioquia, loosely organized into the Pacific Bloc.
His drug trafficking wealth has given him significant power
within the AUC. According to OAS representative Sergio
Caramagna, Murillo is skilled at rebutting GOC arguments for
demobilization and legal accountability for serious crimes
but rarely speaks during negotiations. Murillo was commander
of the Cacique Nutibara Bloc (BCN), which demobilized in
Medellin in December 2003. Both Caramagna and Peace
Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo have noted privately,
however, that Murillo did not demobilize his core military
structure. Murillo was born on February 23, 1961.
-----------------------
AUC Regional Commanders
-----------------------
¶5. (C) There are several regionally powerful AUC commanders
in the concentration zone who have left their troops under
the command of mid-level leaders in the field. These
commanders tend to be less politically-astute and heavily
involved in narcotics trafficking.
-- Jorge Tovar Pupo ("Jorge 40"), Northern Bloc Operations
Commander, has gained power by expanding his drug trafficking
operations. He is suspected of seizing thousands of acres of
valuable land in Cesar Department through threats and
violence, including the murder of a sitting judge. He put
the AUC's negotiations with the GOC in jeopardy in June by
kidnapping former Senator Jose Gnecco. He has been
implicated in the recent death of an indigenous leader and
the kidnapping of two other indigenous activists in August in
the Sierra Nevada region. (The OAS verification mission is
investigating the incident, but predicts that the truth will
be impossible to uncover given the heavy control
paramilitaries have in the region.) Tovar controls
approximately 4,000 troops in Cesar, La Guajira, Magdalena,
Norte de Santander, Bolivar, and Sucre Departments.
Recently, Tovar has been conciliatory toward the government.
Peace Commissioner Restrepo held a secret meeting with him
shortly after the Gnecco kidnapping. During the meeting,
Tovar agreed to demobilize his troops and later persuaded
Mancuso to back the idea. Tovar has told Restrepo that he
wants to leave the armed conflict and is willing to turn
himself in to U.S. authorities to "prove" he is innocent of
drug trafficking. Restrepo speculates that the possibility
of extradition to the U.S. convinced Tovar that
demobilization was his best option. Tovar was born in Cesar
Department to an affluent family.
-- Hernan Hernandez is commander of the Calima Bloc, whose
several hundred troops operate in the departments of Cauca
and Valle del Cauca. According to the OAS, Hernandez also
controls the 350-member Bananero Bloc in Cordoba and northern
Choco Departments, which he has agreed to demobilize. Two of
Hernandez's key subordinates were captured in Medellin in
early September. OAS officials who have dealt with Hernandez
describe him as one of the youngest commanders, mid-ranking
in terms of influence, and eager to demobilize his troops.
He has acknowledged that he faces serious criminal charges
within Colombia and must remain in the concentration zone if
his troops lay down their arms.
-- Ramiro Vanoy ("Cuco") is powerful in Antioquia Department,
where his Mineros Bloc operates. He is reportedly about 50
years old, a native of Boyaca Department, and has been
affiliated with the AUC since at least the 1990s. He is
under indictment in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
-- Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo ("Gabriel Galindo" or
"Gordo Lindo") is roughly second-in-command of Murillo's
Pacific Bloc. He is under indictment in the U.S. on drug
trafficking charges.
-- Juan Carlos Sierra Ramirez is reportedly a powerful
commander in the Middle Magdalena region. He was born on
April 15, 1966.
-- Jhon Santamaria is an AUC field commander in western
Antioquia Department.
--------------
BCB Commanders
--------------
¶6. (C) The Central Bolivar Bloc (BCB) has several thousand
members and is the second largest paramilitary group. It
held separate negotiations with the GOC until the
concentration zone was formed, at which time it formally
joined the "unified" negotiating table.
-- Ivan Roberto Duque ("Ernesto Baez de la Serna"), BCB
Political Commander, is a skilled public speaker. Government
and OAS officials who have participated in negotiations say
Duque is a tough negotiator who believes violence and drug
trafficking are justified to further the paramilitary cause.
He has said that if talks break down, the BCB would form a
right-wing insurgency to "rid the country of guerrillas."
Duque was born on May 9, 1955, and was involved in politics
in the Middle Magdalena region before joining the
paramilitary movement.
-- Javier Montanez ("Macaco"), the BCB Military Commander,
appeared publicly for the first time during the July 1
inauguration of the concentration zone. He controls the
BCB's several thousand troops, which operate primarily in and
around Antioquia Department. Restrepo has privately
commented that Montanez is a major drug trafficker but keeps
his record relatively clean by delegating the nuts-and-bolts
of illicit activity.
-- "Julian Bolivar," the BCB's third-in-command, is similarly
powerful and involved in drug trafficking, although Restrepo
believes Bolivar has some ideological misgivings about
dealing in narcotics and is more politically motivated.
-----------------------
Regional BCB Commanders
-----------------------
¶7. (C) The BCB has two important regional blocs:
-- Guillermo Perez Alzate ("Pablo Sevillano") is commander of
the Liberators of the South Bloc, which operates along the
Pacific coast in Narino and Cauca Departments.
-- Miguel Mejia Munera ("Pablo Mejia") commands the
Vencedores of Arauca. His unit is one of three AUC/BCB
groups that operate in Colombia's eastern plains and agreed
to demobilize on August 12. Mejia and his twin brother
Victor are powerful drug traffickers. Mejia is under
indictment in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
------------
Other Groups
------------
¶8. (C) There are several commanders in the zone who represent
independent paramilitary groups or were previously unknown to
us:
-- Ramon Maria Isaza Arango is the commander of the
independent Middle Magdalena Self-Defense Forces (AMM).
Isaza unexpectedly joined the negotiating table with the
AUC/BCB in June 2004, although his absence in the zone
suggests he is not entirely comfortable associating with
other paramilitary organizations or fully on board with
talks. Our interlocutors have described Isaza as a more
"traditional" paramilitary, who is less involved in drug
trafficking and more interested in combating guerrilla
groups. Isaza was born on September 30, 1940.
-- Victor Triana Botalon is sometimes described as Isaza's
deputy and other times reported to be an independent
paramilitary commander who operates in Boyaca Department. He
has been associated with the AUC in the past.
-- Luis Eduardo Cifuentes ("El Aguila") is an independent
paramilitary commander who operates in Cundinamarca
Department and has sometimes been associated with the AUC.
He was born on March 16, 1960.
-- "Guillermo Torres" commands the independent Self-Defense
Forces of Meta and Vichada and joined the AUC/BCB negotations
shortly before the concentration zone was inaugurated. On
August 12, he agreed to demobilize his troops.
-- We have no information on field commanders Marlon Perez
and Pedro Frontera.
-----------------------
Those Not Participating
-----------------------
¶9. (C) Three small paramilitary groups remain outside the
Santa Fe de Ralito negotiations:
-- The Elmer Cardenas Bloc, led by Alfred Berrio ("El
Aleman"), operates in northern Choco and Antioquia
Departments and has about 1,000 members. Aleman was a
protege of Carlos Castano but refused to join negotiations on
the grounds that most of the AUC commanders were involved in
drug trafficking. His bloc has held separate talks with the
government but has not formally agreed to a cease-fire or
demobilization.
-- The Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Casanare (ACC), led by
Hector German Buitrago Parada ("Martin Llanos"), has
repeatedly told the government that it wants to demobilize
but has demanded a concentration zone of several thousand
square miles to do so. Buitrago did not respond to Uribe's
August ultimatum that all paramilitary groups operating on
the eastern plains demobilize or face the full weight of the
security forces. The group has about 800 members who are
being pushed into an increasingly smaller area of Casanare
Department by attacks from other AUC groups. Buitrago was
born on January 21, 1968.
-- The Tolima Bloc, led by Daniel Roa, has about 200 members
and has not held talks with the government. GOC officials
report that Roa is not closely tied to drug trafficking.
DRUCKER